Doulton Fountain

Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection, Bulletin Photographs

The Doulton Fountain, Glasgow Green, illustrated in the November 1982 issue of Glasgow City Council's newspaper The Bulletin. The fountain was featured in the Council's "Adopt a Monument" scheme, an attempt to persuade sponsors to pay for the upkeep of monuments in the city.

The terracotta Doulton Fountain was presented to the city by manufacturers Doulton & Co after the International Exhibition of 1888. Various groups of figures represent the colonies of the British Empire, with Queen Victoria at the apex. It is 46 feet high, with its outer basin measuring 70 feet in diameter, making it biggest fountain of its kind in the world.

By 1982 the fountain was exhibiting signs of wear and tear caused by the weather and vandalism. Further decline followed, but early in 2003 the fountain was dismantled in the first stage of a £3.9 million restoration project, which will include relocation in front of the People's Palace in October 2004.

Reference: Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection, Bulletin Photographs

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning